Handmade treasures at the Greek Pie Factory

The Greek Pie Factory owner, Thomai, behind the shop’s counter, where a variety of sweet and savory pies are displayed.

Micah Danney/Herald

The phyylo dough is made from scratch at the shop, then baked for its signature flaky layers.

Micah Danney/Herald

Greek desserts like baklava are also served fresh from the counter.

Micah Danney/Herald

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This series highlights local food establishments that offer authentic cuisine from other countries’ cultures. Enjoy!

Joe Kleinschuster had plenty to say about the food at the Greek Pie Factory, which opened at the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and South Franklin Avenue in June, as he waited at the counter.

“When you get 'Greek food' from any gyro place, you can tell it’s prefabricated -- frozen,” said Kleinschuster, who lives nearby and started frequenting the place two months ago. He visits almost every day now, sometimes for lunch and then dinner. “When you get something here, you can pick from like four or five types of sauces, you can taste the fact that it was prepared today, nothing was ever frozen, everything is fresh. Just the variety, and the care - the bread is warm when you come here. It’s like eating in a restaurant, and you’re bringing it home.”

One of his favorite items on the menu is the slow cooked beef with caramelized onions over rice. “There’s nothing like that anywhere,” Kleinschuster said. “You can’t find anything like that.”

The menu is an assortment of phyllo pies and other traditional Greek dishes as well as custom creations dreamt up by the establishment’s chef, Billy Patsios. The pies are sweet or savory. They sell for $3 each, and are large enough to be a meal. Other items, like the potato yogurt soufflé with Greek sausage and mozzarella, are unique to Patsios’ kitchen.

His wife, Thomai, runs the shop, at 68 Roosevelt Ave. She said that customers have called after picking up orders to tell her how good it was. “Excellent,” she said of the feedback in general. “I couldn’t be happier.”

The Greek Pie Factory was an idea for two years before it came to be, Thomai said. Her husband built a network of relationships with upscale deli and market owners and intended to have a wholesale business model, shipping frozen pies around the region from Valley Stream. Billy knew the owner of the building, so they cut a deal and opened shop.

“We felt like the area didn’t have something like this,” Thomai said, noting an absence of handmade Greek food.